This forum is now read-only
To login to the new support channel and community forums, go to the Support Portal
Cool tool for cleaning the grouphead
As it is always a mess brushing the grouphead and wiggling with the portafilter I would like to share my experience with a new cleaning tool, the espazzola: www.espazzola.ch
Flushing the grouphead of a lever machine is especially messy as the water is at a higher temperaturen than the brew water of a pump machine. You always have a mixture og steam and water when you flush your grouphead and have always the danger of burning your fingers when flushing and wiggling at the same time.
The espazzola is inserted into the grouphead inthe same way you do with your portafilter. A silicone membrane molds into the corner of your grouphead and disperses the water evenly when the grouphead is flushed. With a gentle wiggle it brushes the group seal and the group clean. I have been using the espazzola for more than a week now and find it very easy to use. It is especially suited for lever machines like the londinium. A simple solution for an old problem.
Kind regards, Jochen
Flushing the grouphead of a lever machine is especially messy as the water is at a higher temperaturen than the brew water of a pump machine. You always have a mixture og steam and water when you flush your grouphead and have always the danger of burning your fingers when flushing and wiggling at the same time.
The espazzola is inserted into the grouphead inthe same way you do with your portafilter. A silicone membrane molds into the corner of your grouphead and disperses the water evenly when the grouphead is flushed. With a gentle wiggle it brushes the group seal and the group clean. I have been using the espazzola for more than a week now and find it very easy to use. It is especially suited for lever machines like the londinium. A simple solution for an old problem.
Kind regards, Jochen
Comments
that looks awesome. i will definitely be getting one to try. thank you so much for sharing.
best
reiss.
is it effective for removing the old hard crusty coffee residue also?
I'm very excited about this product if it performs as described
reiss.
Thanks for the tip!
I immediately ordered two of these (delivery time estimated 12 days). They are not cheap but if they work it's a fantastic thing.
One small detail:
You state that "Flushing the grouphead of a lever machine is especially messy as the water is at a higher temperaturen than the brew water of a pump machine." and I think this is absolutely true for so called "dippers" but not at all for cold fed heat exchangers like the current L-R lever or the L1/2/3 professional lever machines by Londinium.
Attached files
@frans: You are right stating that the water from the current Londinium range is not as hot as the water from the former L1 a have. But I think the espazzola will still improve the cleaning routing as you can brush and flush in one step.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It looks cool, but also yesterday I drained and shut down my Alex so she can go too her new home, so I have no way to test it until my L-R arrives
Mine are still 3 days out, as per the original estimate of 12 days delivery time.
The forum software and my iPad weren't getting along, so the pictures are on Flickr...
https://www.flickr.com/gp/20720548@N07/b2066r
I'll try to include them later from my laptop
Attached files
Attached files
Attached files
Thanks again!
While cleaning, the handle is to be moved back and forth as the group produces hot water. This motion must stay within a range safely away from the point at which the unit releases from the group, otherwise there is a risk of a hot water surprise when it pops out. Of course that didn't (...cough!...) happen to me.
Should work great with the L-R.
Good advice! And I'm glad that I'm not the only one who had issues figuring out how to put it together. It's simple once you get it
the first one in new zealand? perhaps, i dont know. i do have a group that desperately needs a clean though, so as soon as i have a moment i will try it out.
reiss.
before:
after:
you fit the Espazzola into the LONDINIUM group by placing the handle of the device at the 6 o'clock position and then gently work it backwards and forwards from the 2 o'clock position back to the 4 o'clock position, swinging the steam arm around to the extreme right before you start so it is completely out of the way. it takes only a few moments, and this is on the super filthy group above - used daily it would be a ten second task as there would be hardly any debris to remove and it wouldn't be baked on
bear in mind that i haven't used any espresso machine detergent, which would be common sense to use on a group as dirty as this
i think its remarkable, very impressed - we will definitely be getting these in stock for you
a worthy contender for best new coffee industry product of 2017
if you use the Espazzola at least once a week i think you will be very easy to keep the group spotlessly clean, without the need for detergents
kind regards
reiss
Reiss, glad to hear we can also use detergent to clean extra dirty groupheads, assuming Cafiza is the one to use? Any other cleaning tips since back-flushing is not an option?
http://dailycoffeenews.com/2017/03/01/espazzola-and-hygienic-innovations-offer-new-tools-for-cleaning-espresso-machines/
I'm not so convinced on the unltra-sonic steam wand cleaner idea, I would hope a steam wand gets plenty hot to kill just about everything on it when you purge it. Then again, I have seen people say critters can survive in coffee even after it has been roasted.
Currently I give the group a quick brush with the Cafelat after each shot, and then when I'm done for the day I use the Espazzola. I'll probably use it with detergent just once a month.
I guess it's working properly, but even when it's well locked in a lot of water comes out from the sides in addition to through the hole in the bottom. Maybe that's the difference between the L-R's 3 bar and boiler pressure? Group is super clean though, so who cares.
hi lloyd
any proprietary espresso machine cleaner will be just fine - competition flushes out the weak hands in the market. not being able to backflush on a lever machine is not a missing feature, it is simply that without a pump stopping at the end of the shot you dont get the water & coffee mix being sucked upwards through the shower screen. using a blind basket is also a no-no on a lever machine as there is no pressure relief valve so you end up with hot water under 9 bar of pressure above the blind filter and no easy way to relive this pressure without spraying it all over yourself
if you use the espazzola tool regularly i would be surprised if you need to remove the shower screen and clean the inside of it more often than every couple of months in a domestic environment
kind regards
reiss.
it is designed to work like that - that is what the gutter running around the outside of the espazzola is for - you will see the gutter has then been cleverly designed to drain back down the ribs on the outside of the centre drain, eventually ending up at the same place; the exit point at the very bottom of the central drain. its a very clever piece of kit and everything i owned for group cleaning prior to its arrival has left the building.
best
reiss.
03 Mar 2017 09:46:10 am
Shipping confirmation from Switzerland:
Fri, 03 Mar 2017 06:26:42 pm
Delivered in Berlin:
Sa, 04 Mar 2017 around 09:00 am
What a world we live in...
its awesome, isnt it?
best
reiss.
Before I used a "flush and brush" after every session as I did on my old pump machine, but on the LR the water splashes
all over the place and even behind the drip tray when I do that. With the Espazzola the process
is more controlled and neat.